Improvement in heel-breasting machines



` V. K. SPEAR.` Heel-'Breasting Machines.

Patente@ May 27,1873."`

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UNITED STATES vrvmN x. srEAE, 0E LYNN, :MnssnrnnusETTs.y

IMPROVEMENT IN HEEL-BREASTING MACHINES. l

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 139,273, dated May 27,18.73; application filed I Aprile, 1873.

Be it known that I, VIvIAN K. SPEAE, of Lynn, Essex county, State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Heel- BreastingMachines, of which the following is a specilication:

These improvements are based upon a class of machines for performing thework of breasting heels, so called, the main elements of which are atable supported upon a suitable frame; a jack,77 for holding the boot,sliding to and fro of the said table; a knife for effecting the saidoperation of breasting7 the heel;

and, -finally, a depth-gage or guard to control the depth of ont of theknife with respect to the sole of the boot, to prevent injuring thelatter, as hereinafter explained; the said knife, and gage or guard,being applied to a crosshead, making part of a frame which slidesvertically with respect to the table and jack,

,and is lowered toward the jack, or the boot which may be upon thelatter, by a treadle suitably arranged.

. An example of the class of machines above cited appears in LettersPatent of the United States No. 44,453, and issued to W. E. Pitkin, ofProvidence, Rhode Island, on the 27th day of September, 1864, as also inLetters Patents of the United States No. 43,183, and issued to 0. G.Gritchett, June 21, 1864.

In all heel-breastin g machines heretofore devised, so .far as myexperience extends, the jack for holding the boot or shoe has been aniniiexible one, sliding to and fro of a guide affixed to the table ofthe machine, and without means of changin g its position with respectVto such boot outside of the said to-and-fro motion. I. I have devisedmyimprovements to meet wants existing in the present use of these ma-`chines, the first of which is a means of varying or adjusting theposition of the jack obliquely upon the table of the machine, in orderto breast or trim the front edge of the heel on -a-n an gle with respectto the longest plane of the sole, as in right and left boots this angleis not a right angle, but more or lessv oblique; that of the rig-htsloping in a direction oppothis object being carried out by pivoting thebase-plate of the jack upon and to the rear part of the carriage whiching part of slides to and fro'of the table of the machine,

this pivoting of the jack enabling its longitudina'l position to bevaried with respect to the knife, in order that the latter, as itdescends, shall cut or trim the front edge of the heel at an obtuseangle to theV longest plane of the sole, the extent of movement of thejack in l this respect, being governed by two set-screws,

which screw horizontally through ears erected 1 upon the top of thebase-plate, and abut at their inner ends alternately against a Vstopyscrew which is screwed into the sliding ]'ack-` y, carriage, and securedwithin a segmental slop-t` y 'y formed in sald base-plate 5 suchstop-screw further serving, by means of its head which overlaps the sideboundaries of the slot, to lock theA f base-plate, and consequently thejack, in-an immovable position upon its "carriage, which becomesnecessary when straight boots are V being trimmed or breasted. l

II. These improvements relate to means for "I enabling the verticalslope or angle of the breast of the heel, with respect to the botl I tomof the sole, to be varied, to accommodate y dilferin g styles in thisrespect; this obj ect being accomplished, in the present instance, by

pivoting the upright post or block of the jack at its extreme lower end,to standards erected upon the base-plate before named, by a trans versehorizontal rock-shaft or journal which e 1 passes through the whole insuch manner as to allow of rocking or swaying motions of said post, in apath at right angles to the cut eifect- A ed by the knife in breastingthe heel; a set e t.

screw being screwed `into the base-plate, and below each extremity ofthe post or arms makthe latter, by which the position of the post 1smaintained at any desired angle." "l

III. These improvements embrace means whereby I am enabledto so adjustthe curvature of the last 7 of the jack that it shall conform to thecurvature of the bottom of the sole, especially at the shank, as this`curvature varies very greatly in different styles of work; and I carryout this portion ot' my improvements by pivoting, to the lower frontpart of upright arm, which rises to nearly a level with the top of thesaid post, and being provided with a spring to give the requiredelasticity to jack the boot, as hereinafter explained,a

PATENT CEEIGE:`

the base or post of the jack, an l second horizontal arm or horn beingpivoted at one end to the top of such upright arm, and extending outwardtoward the operator into such a position that a boot or shoe may be'readil y slipped heel first over the two, an adwill receive all t-hesizes of childrens or any "one class, it is not intended to embrace-thewhole range of manufacture; since, although I am enabled, by theemployment of an independent toe-piece, and by the yielding union of thearm and post, to vary the length of the compound last considerably, onewidth ofthe heel-seat would not suffice for all. Hence this portion ofmy invention consists in the employment, in combination with the uprightpost or block of the jack, of an adjustable or removable heel-seat,which may be detached at pleasure, the requisite number and size ofthese heel-seats being provided to adapt the machine to-such styles orclass of Work as may be required of it.

V. My improvements contemplate the employment of means for governing theposition of the paring or breasting-knife to compensate for impropergrinding of the latter, and to present its cutting edge in parallelismto the bottom of the sole shank, this result being accomplished bypivoting the knife to the cross-head or beam in such a manner that itmay be adjusted vertically from an upright to an oblique position,according to the departure of the cutting edge of the knife from a lineat right angles to its sides, which frequently results :from hasty orcareless grinding, and also that it may be moved laterally upon thecrosshead to compensate for the side displacementy of the knife, whichits oblique adjustmentv entails.

In the drawings acccompanying this specification- Figure l is a frontview, and Fig. 2 a vertical, central, and longitudinal section of amachine embodying myimprovements; Figs. 3 and 4, transverse sections ofthe jack Fig. 5, a horizontal section of the jack Fig. 6, a verticalsection of the joint between the horn and arm of the jack, to behereinafter explained and Fig. 7,-a face view of the breastin g-knifeand its supports.

The drawings above named represent at A.

the main structure of thc machine, consisting in brief of a table orbed, B, supported upon two standards, C (Land bea-ring, upon two uprightrods, D D, erected upon its opposite ends, an archedcross-bar, E.Sliding upon the upper portion of the rods D D is a crosshead, F, orknife-stock, of a form substantially that of the bar E, and in positionparallel with it, a pitman, G, being attached at one extremity to one ofthe two ends of the cross-head, and at the opposite and lower end to oneof the two ends of a horizontal beam, H, disposed below the table B, andparallel with it, this beam H being in turn connected by a rod, I, tothe pedal J, disposed below the said bed B, and at right angles to itslongest or transverse plane, the foot-rest of the pedal extendingforward into such a position below and with respect to the horn of thejack that the operator, while managing the jack with his hands, readilyoperates the treadle with his foot, a spring, K, being coiled about eachrod D and between the ends ofthe cross-headY or knife-stock F and thetable B to elevate the cross-head and the knife borne by it, and raisethe latter above the work, when pressure upon the pedal is removed. vThebreasting-knife of the machine is shown at N as a gouge-shaped blade,applied to the cross-head or knife-stock F, in manner as hereinafterexplained, the shear or cutting edge of this knife being at the bottomand arranged at right angles to the path of movement of the slidingcarriage M and of the longest plane of the jack. 0 in the accompanyingdrawings represents a depth-gage or indicator, which is applied to theknife-stock F, and alongside of and in front of the knife N, thisdepth-gage being applied to the said knife-stock in such manner as to beadjusted vertically to accommodate heels which vary considerably inthickness, and its chief purpose being, by resting upon the sole, toprevent the knife from cutv ting into and injuring or disiguring thelatter, the knife being set in such a position with regard to the gagethat its cutting-edge coincides with or extends slightly below the lowerface of the gage( Upon the top of the table B is secured a dovetailedguide, L, which is disposed centrally thereof and at right angles to thelongest plane of the cross-head F, and the knife carried by the latter,while sliding upon the dovetailed guide L is a carriage, M,

composed of 'a dat plate with a dovetailed groove to embrace the splineof the said guide L, the said carriage M supporting the jack, to behereinafter explained, and inV the detailed construction of which mypresent improvements will be found to consist.

The above description embraces the organization of a machine forbreasting heels, such as has heretofore been in use, and substantiallyas shown in Letters Patent hereinbefore alluded to.

I. In carrying my improvements into practical effect I employ a fiatplate, a, which is the base-plate or foundation of the jack, this basebeing laid upon the top of the carriage M and pivoted at its rea-r endto the said carriage by an upright pin, b, in such manner that theforward end of the base-plate may play in a short arc of a circle uponthe car` riage, the extent of this play, in each direction, beinggoverned by a set-screw, c, which is screwed through a stud, d, erectedupon" the base-plate a, at each side thereof, each of `such screwsoperating in connection with "a second and intermediate screw or bolt,c, which passes through a segmental slot or channel, f, created in thesaid base-plate, and described upona line struck from the pivot b as acenter, the head of such stop, screw, or bolt e overlapping each side ofthe slot and constitutng not only a rigid stop against which the screwsabut to effect the lateral adjustment of the base-plate and jack, butserving also, by screwing down upon the said plate, to clamp the latterfirmly to the carriage M and maintain the jack in a xed position, whilethe heel is being breasted. The screws c c are not indispensable to theadjustment of the jack, as the bolt e would effect the purpose;

but after long service such bolt'and the sides of the slot would becomeworn, and, in any event, would be less effective than the screws. Themode of applying the plate a and its accompanying j ack to the carriageM enables me to readily vary the position of said' jack with respect tothe breasting-knife, and consequently vary the transverse slope of thebreast of the heel, which in rights and lefts77 is usually oblique inopposite directions, and in straights is square. In obtainingthis resultI carry ont the first portion of my present improvements.

II. Proceeding with my improvements I erect upon opposite sides of thebase-plate a, i

and about in the longitudinal center thereof, two upright cheeks, g g,and between these cheeks I dispose the lower end of an upright post, h,and connect the three by a horizontal shaft, i, which passes throughthem. The

post h is practically of the form of an inverted T, and below each footor. branch jj thereof, I dispose a jack-screw, k, which screws into thebase-plate a, these screws giving me means whereby to vary the uprightposition of the post h and its boot-supporting horn, and consequently ofthe breast or front edge of the heel of the boot Vcarried by the jack,and enables me to breast or trim such heel at anydesirable verticalangle with respect to the sole. In so doing I carry out the secondportion of these improvements.

III. In the accompanying drawings, l represents an upright arm, situatedin advance of the post h and pivoted at its lower part to the lower partof such post by a fulcrum m, the upper end of said armprising to alevel, or thereabouts, with the top of the post, and being pivoted atsuch upper end to the inner extremity of a horizontal horn, In, whichdeparts from it over the front end of the baseplate a, as shown in Fig.1 of the drawings, a spring, q,being interposed between thearm l andpost h, the stress of which forces the former away from the latter, andprovidesan elastic or yielding connection between thev two, whichaccommodates small variations in sizes of boots, and enables the jackingto be performed with greater ease and celerity. The joint which unitesthe arm l and horn a y is a very peculiarone-that is to say, the maleportion or tongue thereof is converted at its lower edge into a sectoralrack, o, which engages with the threads of a screw, p, which is screwedthrough the said arm Z from front to rear and so as to intercept theteeth of 'said sector. By this means I obtain a powerful and firmmeansof varying the horizontal y,

slope of the horn a upon the arm Z, and in so doing, adapt the curvatureof the jack to the horizontal curvature of the sole of the boot, which,as before stated, varies, to a very wide extent, in different classes ofwork.

, In this manner I greatly improve former constructions of thesemachines, and carry out the third portion of these improvements.

The outer end of the horn a is tubular, and within its bore is insertedthe shank fr of a toe-rest or plate s of a suitable shape to enter andconform to the interior of the toe of a boot, the longitudinal play ofthis toe-rest, within or upon the horn, enabling me to adjust the jackto any size of childrens boots Vor any other one class, withoutsubstituting` a dierent rest.

IV. I carry out the fourth element in these improvements by applying tothe top of the post h a movable heel-seat, so called, com# posed of ablock, t, of a form in horizontal area to coliform to that of theinterior of the j heel-seat of the boot, this heel-seat being confinedto the post h by a screw, fu, or. other method, which permits ofitsready removal and the substitution of another. case of the toe-restbefore named, one size ot' this heel-seat will suffice for all the sizesof l one class of work, but each class must possess i its own. In theemployment of this independent or detachable heel-seat will be found, asbefore stated, the fourth element in these improvements. y

'V. In order to be able to vary the vertical position of the knife, whennecessary, to present its shear to the sole-shank in such manner thatthe two shall meet throughout, I apply the knife to the knifestock F inan ady justable manner, as shown in the drawingsthat is to say, I applyto the rear face of the knife-stock and centrally thereof a flat plate,

tu, and confine this plate to the knife-stock by` two screws, .z w, theShanks of which pass through notches y y created in each side of theplate, the heads of the screws overlap ping the plate and therebyserving to confine the latter to the cross-head or knifestock. Thenotches y are of somewhat greater width than the screw which entersthem; `and by this means I am enabled to tilt the plate in eitherdirection, somewhat out of avertical line, and, as before stated, adaptits cutting edge to the bottom of the sole. The knife,

which is substantially of the form of a carvers y gouge, is shown at Nin the drawing, as disposed within a channel created in the outer faceof the plate w, and confined therein by ,i a bolt, b1, which passesthrough a vertical ob' long slot, c', in the knife, as well as through asimilar and coinciding slot, d, of the plate As, in the inconvenience.

' zo, and screws into the knife-stock I?, thus allowing the knife to beraised or lowered slightly with respect to the gage o, and to be variedin position laterally to compensate for its out of cutter7 movement whenthrowing it into a sloping position. The mode of swiveling the knife andplate last-above described embodies the fifth portion of theseimprovements.

An additional and by no means insignicant detail of my presentimprovements consists in disposing within a vertical orifice, e',created in the iront end of the guide L a bolt, f, whose upper extremityprotrudes slightly above the surface of such guide, and is maintained insuch position by a spring, g, placed below or about it, as shown in Fig.2 of the drawings, the lower end of the bolt terminating in a knob bywhich it may be readily lowered. In the under surface of the carriage aand at its front end I produce a small socket, L, which intercepts thebolt f l thus lookin g the jack in its extreme outer position,landmaintaining it firmly in place thereat while a boot is being slippedover such jack. Without this stop pinor bolt or its equivalent the jackrecedes when a boot is jacked and causes much A boot being applied tothe last the bolt is lowered and the jack and boot pushed back until thebreast of the heel reaches a position immediately below the knife N. Ishall not herein describe the functional operations oi' this machine,for the reason that it is well understood, as the same in general formhas been in common use, and shown and explained in several patents, asbefore stated.

Claims.

l. In a heel-breasting machine, the combination, with thevertically-moving breasting knife, of a jack or jack-carrier movableupon a vertical pivot and adjusting devices,'where by the said jack whenmovedon its pivot may be adjusted and held in position to adapt themachine to the breasting of rights and lefts or straights, substantiallyas set forth.

2. In combination with the jack and the carriage a, to which the jack isjointed at z', as described, the jack-screws 7c, under the arrangementsubstantially as and for the purposes shown and set forth.

3. In machinery of the kind specified, a jack having a last portionconstructed and mounted, substantially as described, so that thehorizontal slope of the fore part may be varied, with respect to theheel seat or post toadapt the jack to varying curvatures of soles, asset forth. j

4. The combination of post h, arm l, and horn u, said `parts beingconstructed and a-rranged for joint operation, substantially as hereinAshown and set forth.

5. yIn a heel-breasting machine, a jack provided with a detachable orremovable heel- I 7. The breasting-knife, combined with andV applied toits stock, substantially in the manner shown and set forth, wherebyeither the vertical slope or lateral bodily adjustment of the said knifeis varied, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

8. The combination, with the guide L and carriage a, of the stop-boltf,or its equivalent,

essentially in manner and operating as stated.

VIVIAN K. SPEAR. Witnesses:

F. CURTIS, W. E. BOARDMAN.

